Short and sweet TEDtalk up where Derek Sivers analyzes the Sasquatch Festival video that circulated like mad a few months ago. Here it is:

When most people saw the original video, the lessons that people drew from it went along the lines of - don’t be afraid to step up and be the first, or don’t be afraid to be yourself even if no-one else believes in you.  But Sivers is right.  The transformative moment here is not the first guy, but the second guy.  Until the first follower takes the plunge, the leader is, and remains the lone nut. As Sivers says, what we need more of is people who are brave enough to be the first followers.

This piece of advice holds true in almost every growing community.  The problem is not so much the lack of leaders but  the lack of cooperation and trust in other people’s initatives, as well as the lack of people willing to put their hearts into something they may not get credit for.  Until we have more brave followers, there will remain a lot of precious and disjointed initiatives that won’t get the necessary momentum.